Marketing

As COVID-19 surges, states rolling out restaurant industry relief campaigns

Many states and local communities are beginning grassroots- and restaurant association-related efforts to stir up community support for restaurants.

Photo: iStock.

November 17, 2020

With pandemic cases surging nationally, many states and local communities are beginning grassroots- and restaurant association-related efforts to stir up community support for restaurants.

In Ohio — where Gov. Mike DeWine told restaurant leaders on Nov. 9 that the state would reassess whether to impose new restrictions on restaurants, gyms and other businesses on Nov. 19 — the Ohio Restaurant Association has kicked off its Dine Safe Across Ohio campaign. Through the campaign, Ohioans are urged to support restaurants by eating out this week, according to a news release.

This effort splits its beneficiaries between the restaurant industry and the Ohio Restaurant Employee Relief Fund. The ORA, which conducts bi-weekly statewide polls of operators, said 58% of those surveyed said their restaurants would have to close within six months if current capacity operations continued, while 81% of respondents did not anticipate breaking even in 2020.

"Any discussion of another restaurant closure is inconsistent with any science or contact tracing data that we have been provided, which continues to detail that the greatest risk of transmission, is occurring in unregulated private gatherings," ORA President and CEO John Barker said in a news release. "Further restrictions would be devastating to an industry that employs 585,000 Ohioans at more than 23,000 locations, and is troubling, considering the extensive steps the industry has taken to effectively abide by orders, requirements and recommendations."

Dine Safe will see more than 200 participating restaurants providing special offers and promotions to bring diners to their doors. The campaign also urges Ohioans to give to the Ohio Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, which activates emergency foodservice personnel funding.

A related effort in Massachusetts, created by Seated and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, has launched Eat Out to Help Out MA, which specifically targets full-service restaurants to provide a free solution to help those businesses boost sales with 50% diner rebates on certain days this month, a news release said.

Since the program started, restaurant reservations reward platform, Seated, has reported:

• a 15% increase in the number of restaurants on the platform in Boston.
• 14-times growth in GMV (total paid by diners).
• 15-times growth in reservations, as well as transactions.

The incentive program runs Monday through Wednesday weekly through the end of November.

The program is free to operators and diners, who use the Seated app to participate in the campaign. Snce the pandemic began, the restaurant association said that 20% of Massachusetts' eateries have permanently closed. By year's end, the restaurant industry in Massachusetts is expected to lose $2.13 billion, according to the Pioneer Institute.

"As a restaurant owner in Williamstown, I've seen how hard the state has been hit by the pandemic and how terrifying the unknown can be," Bo Peabody, co-founder of Seated and the owner of Mezze Bistro + Bar, said in the release. "While we had hoped that the government would take additional steps to help the restaurant industry, we're proud to partner with the Massachusetts Restaurant Association to offer support to our local restaurants."

There are more than 18,000 restaurants in Massachusetts, the MRA said.